Mason County Man Involved In Murder/Attempted Suicide Dies

A Mason County man who shot and killed his estranged wife Sunday and tried to commit suicide has died.

Richard Franklin, 49, of Point Pleasant, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Monday morning at Cabell Huntington Hospital.

Point Pleasant police said they responded to a disturbance call at a home on North Main Street in Point Pleasant about 12:40 p.m. Sunday.

When officers arrived, they found both Kelli Leach-Franklin, 43, and Mr. Franklin laying on the floor suffering from gun shot wounds.

Police learned from Leach-Franklin’s new boyfriend and one of her three children, who witnessed the shooting, that Mr. Franklin had barged into the house and shot Kelli in the head with a handgun. Then he turned the gun on himself.

Leach-Franklin was pronounced dead at the scene and Mr. Franklin was transported to Cabell Huntington Hospital were he later died from his injuries.

Police said the couple had been in trouble with the law in the past. They were arrested back in September for domestic battery and later released.